Chapter 2535 — Choosing a Martial Technique
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
And so Zhao Qibing was fortunate enough to take four Minor Qi-Gathering Pills in succession. But then, luck was on his side—at this auction, Wei Zhao had happened to release just that many Minor Qi-Gathering Pills, whereas previous auctions had offered none at all.
Though the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill was only a second-grade pill, the materials for refining it were rather costly. It might seem that the cost per pill would not exceed that of other pills by much, but one had to remember that pill refinement came with a failure rate. The more batches ruined, the more the cost was spread across each surviving pill. Thus the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill was among the rarest at any auction—usually one or two, and even those appeared only once every three years.
The Hidden You Family were no fools. Even the Xuan Pill Sect's success rate in refining them was not especially high; they too suffered failures. To be sure, if the Xuan Pill Sect's Patriarch personally took up the furnace, he could guarantee that every pill refined would succeed—but where would the Patriarch find the time and energy to refine such ordinary second-grade pills?
These pills were all refined by the Xuan Pill Sect's other elders and disciples, whose success rates were naturally low and whose costs ran high. They too were unwilling to refine them in any great number.
In this way, the Hidden You Family could control the quantity of Minor Qi-Gathering Pills, releasing a few at each auction but never many, creating a market where demand far outstripped supply. Who would have thought Wei Zhao would shatter that rule in a single stroke?
Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi's refining costs were naturally low. Never mind that Han Jingyi succeeded with every pill she refined; when the two of them worked together on multiple pills at once, they could even produce a few extra. Thus cost was naturally no problem at all.
"Wahahaha! I never thought I, Zhao Qibing, could become an Earth-rank expert!" Having taken four Minor Qi-Gathering Pills and gone into seclusion for a day and a night, Zhao Qibing had finally become an early-stage Earth-rank expert!
True, he had not yet reached Wei Zhao's level, but he was already thrilled. By a stroke of luck, he had become one of the fastest-cultivating practitioners around! Of course, besides good timing, there was also the fact that the Hidden Zhao Family now had no one else to carry on. Zhao Qilei's participation in the Xuan Pill Sect trials was a foregone conclusion—one could say he was as good as gone. That naturally left only Zhao Qibing, and they had no choice but to cultivate him.
Now that he was an Earth-rank expert, he was naturally qualified to learn martial techniques. But Uncle Zhu's Tyrant Fist did not quite suit him, and Uncle Zhu was still bedridden with his injuries, unable to instruct Zhao Qibing.
It seemed he would have to seek out some martial techniques. After thinking it over, Zhao Qibing went to his grandfather's room.
The leg Zhong Yongliang had broken had naturally healed. This time Old Mian had brought back a great many second-grade pills, among them Minor Restoration Pills and Meridian-Unblocking Pills. Zhao Qibing took one Minor Restoration Pill and his leg was cured.
The Old Master was cultivating when he heard Old Mian report that Zhao Qibing had come. He immediately had him shown in. Since he had already resolved to cultivate Zhao Qibing as his successor, he held nothing back. Zhao Qibing might be a bit arrogant and spoiled, but he had more drive than the cautious Zhao Guangyin.
Zhao Guangyin was meticulous and prudent, but that sort of temperament was enough for self-preservation and not enough for expansion. The Hidden Families were not what they once were. The Hidden Families Arbitration Association existed in name only, and the great Hidden Families were all stirring, plotting greater expansion. Anyone who failed to strive forward at such a time would be eliminated and reduced to an ordinary family.